Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-10-15
Mon rmtng Thieves,

AR1IcLks.
From the Philadelphia Inquirer
'No, madam, you cannot enter said the usher
gently but nrmly. 1.-The runerai Is strictly pri-
vate and no one without card Is 70 be admitted"
''she was a dear friend or mine, said the wo-
man, and Q dainty whiUe handkerchief with q
broad band OF black was slowly RAISED 20 wipe
away the dewy mist that obscured her sight '.Can
not see h-r once more7" There Was a deep pathos
In the tone and plainilve SOB came from b-hind
the linen, while = tear drop slowly coursed down
The heart Of the usher softened. He was only
young man, and she looked almost charming In
her apparent distress, so ne allowed her 10 enter.
Tiptoelng softly into the parlor where no one but
an aged lady was sitting, she bent over The open
parted Then, while convulslye sobs shook her
form, she moved a lew PAGES and leaned az alnst
the mantel, upon which Was placcd large amount
OF valuable Dric-a-brac. Here size remained Tor a
moment with a look OF sadness upon her COunte-
nance benttng the occa sion, while her lips lrrm-
bied with SUPPRESSED grieI. Tue old lady was in-
tently studying the pattern o. the carpet, and
when the visitor slowly lett the ron with lowered
head made no note OF her departure. odce out
si1e and way from the house. her steps quickened,
and ten minutes later a valuable piece OF bisQue
ware was handed over d pawn0Tokers counter,
while the clerk slowly colsbed out the requisite
Wnen the funeral was over and the family once
more alone, the loss was discovered only TO be
charged against some one OF Tie servants, or per
haps kept a secret tnrougn fear oI Offending some
OF those present by searching Inquiry.
Funeral sneak thieves are DecOnlng more and
more numerous" SAID q well-known private de-
uecuve yesterday. "Tney are Always TEN tles,
the neavy drapery OF their clothing afOrds ample
opportunity Tor concealing small articles They
sen the daily papers closely, note The Principal
deaths. and wnen the time arrives play on tue
Gear friend RACKET 70 perfection. A they are
generally quite pretty, ana the beauty they natu-
rally possess Is considerably enhanced by the
sumberness Of their AZURE they succeed IN nine
Cases out OF ten In securing admission, no matter
how private the funeral services may be-. once
inside they cry q little, n necessary, ana watch
their chance or stealing any Thing OF value IN the
ROOM Having succeedcd, Jney make their depart
ure as quickly, yet decOrOusly, as Possible, aud
without Iarry lng minute for Iear OF possible de-
lection and pursuit. pawn the stUien artiole.
"wnen the room Is full OF people the sneak thief
proceeds very cautiously, often waiting until the
prayer Is being made before endeayo ring secure
anything. None OF those present pay any aIten-
lion her actions, thinking That she h friend u
the bereaved family In some ca arJicles which
are missed !roIn upper rooms have been taken by
these women.
IAN uptown lady recently placed a valuable
ring upon the unger OF her dead daughter, only 10
md when sine hooked at her before the lad was
screwed down that it was gone. In this Instance
suspicion Immediately attached 10 q woman whom
no one Present knew, but VINO had been notloed
bending over the casket few minutes before. She
was called INTO another room, and wnen accused
OF the THEFT calmly handed over Tue ring. In
order 10 avoid "A scene sne Was allowed 20 ~. In
otuer cases however these vampires nave sue
ceeded Ia removing lewelry from the dead and
escaping Win IL"